Hi, I’m Sammy, and I’m not crazy.
Yeah, I know, I know, that’s what a crazy person would say. I get that. But really, I’m not. Read this and guess for yourself, I guess. Or don’t. I can’t make you. Anyway where was I?
-–
Hi, I’m Sammy. Samuel Stahl, if you’re being fancy, but if you call me either of those then you’re either a teacher or a prat. Or some wise guy who’s sure they know everything about me.
I’m not crazy, I mean that. That’s just what they tell people who’ve seen something they shouldn’t have. Yknow, like the monster that killed my sister. Or the several monsters I’ve killed in the months since, those kinds of things.
It started with my sister. I don’t really want to go into the whole thing, but I guess I can at least summarise.
About six months ago, my older sister was killed. We were home alone and something burst through our window, hunted us through the house, and, in the end, killed Mia right in front of me. Instead of me - I was the one it was aiming for, she just took the hit.
She took it down with her - she saved me and killed it all at once, but it was too late for her. She died in my arms, her killer already nothing more than a rotting heap of flesh and bone.
Honestly, it’s kind of a miracle I wasn’t a suspect. My sister was dead, our camera footage was all corrupt, I was the only witness, and I was a witness rambling about monsters I couldn’t prove. I guess maybe the obvious signs of an intruder saved my ass.
Didn’t save me from being psychoanalysed out the ass, though. I’ve spent months being coddled by parents, doctors, specialists, all of who told me that I wasn’t thinking straight. Trauma, repressed memories, coping mechanisms…I get it, okay? I probably do have enough trauma to fill a pool with. But it was real - the things I’ve killed since then have proven that.
First one was a fluke. I heard a noise on the way back from school and found a large shape, a creature with too many eyes and nails like razors standing over a girl. I didn’t even think: all I could see was another monster hurting another person and I swung with a nearby axe.
I took the thing’s head clean off. Much like the other one, it rotted into nothing right before me.
The girl was just fine, minus a few cuts and a lifetime of needed therapy. I’d saved her.
It’s funny how quickly you get addicted to that feeling. The adrenaline of saving someone, of defeating some big bad monster. Of being a hero.
Yeah, I know how dumb that sounds.
It was kind of downhill after that, at least, that’s what my parents would tell you. I was out at all hours, learning, hunting, stealing…all for a purpose, obviously, but you can’t really tell that to the police. After I got tangled up in a store robbery (not my fault, I swear), my parents finally had enough of me and sent me away.
And so I ended up here. Wickersons Quarry Boarding School. A non prestigious boarding school east of bumfuck nowhere that you really only send your kids to if you don’t want to deal with them anymore. The kind of school that accepts a traumatised teen with attitude problems.
I’m actually kinda glad though. I like it here. I like my friends and the freedom this place gives. No one’s going to give me issues if I want to go down to the library at two am to figure out what the hell a wendigo is.
It’s a cannibal monster from mythology, by the way. Big antlers, bad attitude. Just in case you were curious.
Even my roommate is used to me by now. My friend - best friend - Rhy. I like to joke that our friendship is helped by the fact that he’s deaf, and so can’t hear me constantly talking. And if I make sure to close the door carefully, I don’t wake him up when I go out at all hours.
Then there’s my other friends - Leanne and Jilly. Leanne’s scary, Jilly’s a sweetheart. Think, like, bad cop, good cop, devil and angel’s advocates, chaos and order - that sort of thing.
Right, I should really start telling you about the monster problem now. I can’t sit here all night.
Something’s been preying on the nearby town.
The town closest to the school is called Wickersons Hill. It’s a quiet place, mostly residential, with a few shops and cafes dotted around. Every now and then, the school lets us visit; stretch our legs, they say.
I usually hang around the Corner Cafe. It’s not actually on a corner - I asked the owner one time, he said it’s meant to be more like a ‘cozy corner’ - but it’s a cute little place with warm lighting and a perfect temperature no matter the weather.
Every time, I sit in the corner, order hot chocolate, and listen to the other customers. If that doesn’t offer anything, I ask the staff. It’s a surprisingly reliable way of getting information, though a bar would be better. Weird things pass through bars.
Last time, two ladies were discussing some recent disappearances. Said a fourth person was taken overnight - the local cops had finally gotten involved. (“About time!” she said). So, I asked, and, thankfully, they answered, telling me everything they could.
The details of the case, as I have them so far, is this:
Area of case - Wickersons Hill area. (Notes: need more info)
Victims of case - 4 so far
Core info - A ‘pale man’ is rumoured to be lurking around town.
Misc info - A lot of cattle have also been going missing, usually to be found slaughtered days later
Thoughts - vampire? Need more clues.
It’s…eh. A start, at least. I don’t have enough information yet, though I did manage to get a stack of recent newspapers from the newsagents. Maybe that’ll give me something.
Urgh, I hate newspaper reading, but I guess it’s necessary.
--
Okay, so, that’s interesting. Turns out that the cattle were all drained of blood. Definitely thinking vampire, except that people have reported the strange man in the middle of the day. Maybe the man is unrelated? I mean, it’s unlikely, but maybe???
Keep in mind, this place isn’t exactly huge. Visitors (other than us) aren’t really common, at least, not from how I’ve heard it, and gossip is everywhere. If someone knew who this man was, wouldn’t they have said something about it?
--
We’re not allowed to go to the woods anymore.
We had a whole assembly about it - it’s too much of a risk with the disappearances, they said. But there’s no need to worry - we’re all perfectly safe here, it’s just a precaution.
…Yeah, no. I already had a guess and this just confirmed it: they think it’s in there. Which means it’s where I need to go.
Jilly said the fence should protect us. Leanne said that any killer worth his knife would know how to climb. Rhy just looked worried.
I’m kinda on Leanne’s side here. Pretty much all lore on vamps tells me that those fuckers can climb like Spiderman on speed. If it wants in…well, I don’t think there’s much most people can do to stop it.
Just gotta hope I’m the exception.
Guess I should do more research. Yack.
-
Oh good shit I’ve had a hell of a night.
I’m writing this with blood stuck under my nails and one hell of a bruise forming on my side because everything went wrong so quickly I’m still reeling.
Long story short, it took a student.
Long story even shorter, I failed to stop it.
I was there. I saw it. I fought it. I just wasn’t good enough.
It’s a weekday, so I had classes. Which, yknow, slowed down research, but I’m not that easy to stall (even if it IS my last name). So after dinner, I headed to the library, grabbed as many books on vampires and vampire-like creatures as I could, and spent so long in a booth I’m pretty sure I could name it as my heir.
The dumb thing about research is that you read the same thing about the same monster so many times you can recite it in your sleep. The great thing is that that usually stops you forgetting it as said creature tries to gut you. Or, even if you forget, your body remembers, and you just need to buy time until the rest of you catches up.
I think the rest of me is still catching up.
Okay okay. What happened is this.
I was in the library until late, reading ‘vampires are hurt by sunlight’ about five dozen times before I decided that I needed food, coffee, sleep or murder. Sadly, only two of those things are allowed at school, and none are allowed in the library, so I checked out what I could and headed for my room.
I uh…didn’t quite make it there. Good news though: the books are intact, so Mrs Warley doesn’t have any reason to yell at me. This week. Always a silver lining, right?
I was walking down the hall to the boys dorms when I heard a noise. Not a very loud one - a small, muffled cry, but I’ve heard enough distress calls to recognise one. I dropped the books like a sack of hot potatoes and ran, right towards the sound.
The motion lights were on. In their harsh light, I could see dark smears along the bricks, as well as uneven, scraping footprints in the dirt. I followed them along the base of the wall, and I heard a voice.
“No - no, please. Please, I’ll do anything -”
The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t remember her name. She might die because of me and I still can’t remember her name. She was pleading, and whatever was taking her just laughed. It sounded human, which definitely helped my vampire theory. Also made me kinda nervous; things that look human can think like us, too. Mostly. At the very least they’re usually at least a little bit capable of rational thought, and I’m just pushing it on a good day, so it’s not great for me.
Anyway, I figured I had to act to save her. I mean, I had to do something - if it is a vampire, I could only hide so long before it heard me, anyway. So I rushed out.
It’s also worth noting at this point that the only silver thing I’d managed to find was a butter knife, so I was running at this homicidal monster with cutlery, but I figured I’d kinda figure that one out as I went.
Probably should’ve should’ve thought it through, but hey, hindsight is a bitch.
I ran at the monster. It was just as humanoid as I figured; a tall man with dark hair, like a movie vamp. The girl was lying at his feet, moaning. By the time I saw it, though, it had already seen me, and it was already two steps ahead. The instant I came out from my hiding space I was dodging on pure instinct as the man shaped monster hurled something at me with enough speed to kill. That’s about when I knew I was in trouble, and I ducked down and to the side to fling dirt into his eyes.
Childish? Absolutely yep, but it worked. It (he? it?) snarled, obviously not expecting a short blonde fucker to throw dirt in its eyes, one hand going up to try and rub them. I lunged towards it, hoping to get a good stab in. Through the fourth and fifth ribs, I know where the heart is. I just needed one clear shot.
It wasn’t good enough. Even with the distraction, the man batted me away like I was an insect, sending me flying into the bricks with a single flick of the hand and knocking all the breath out of my lungs.
It grabbed me, then, by the neck. The grip was like iron, and I had an awful moment where I was so sure it was going to kill me. But for some reason, it didn’t bother to restrain the hand with the knife. I don’t know why - maybe it underestimated me, or maybe it just forgot. So as its grip tightened around my neck, I was able to get one good stab in, right into the damn things neck. I dragged that blade towards me with all the strength I had, and it screamed as my knife cut and burned through layers of jagged flesh. It dropped me onto the rough hewn gravel and grabbed for the knife.
The silver burned it, just like I hoped it would. It could barely even touch the hilt to pull it from its neck.
I scrambled away from it, managing somehow to get to my feet before the knife got free. It roared at me again, probably getting ready to turn me into a smear on the ground, when the school alarm went off.
This took all of us by surprise, but none more so than the monster. I wanted to go for the knife again, but it was lying in the dirt nearby and I knew I’d be dead by the time I did anything with it. So instead, I went for the girl.
I don’t know what I was trying to do. Protect her, somehow? Either way, I never stood a chance. The damn thing came bearing down on us, and it was all I could do to pull us both out of the way before the monster broke my spine. Distantly, I could hear a commotion nearby as the school staff sought us out, and all I could think was that we needed to get out. Needed to run.
I tried to drag her to her feet, but she was pretty out of it; I don’t think she could see me, not really. She was just too scared. Have you ever tried to lift a toddler who didn’t want to be lifted? ‘Coz it was like that. Completely boneless.
I don’t know what was going through the monster’s head, but I could almost see it mulling the situation over. I was, too, though a lot slower due to my injuries and general idiocy. I’d kinda decided I had to try and pick her up when the creature moved.
It was so fast I couldn’t even register it until it was happening: the creature ran towards me with an unexpected burst of speed that I can only hope is limited, or we’re all fucked. It threw me away from the girl, a good five or so meters.
All the breath was knocked out of me again, and my head pounded as it made contact with the ground. I scrambled to sit up, but by the time my vision stopped spinning, it was gone.
They were gone.
I tried to chase it. I ran down the halls in the direction I thought it went, listening out desperately for any noises, but there was nothing. They were just…gone.
I didn’t want the teachers to find me, so I hid in one of the closets until it was safe to go back to my room. Rhy was awake when I got there: he has an app on his phone that buzzes when the alarm goes off, and he worried when he saw I wasn’t in our room. He took one look at me and the crease between his brows went really deep.
All he signed was, “What happened?”
I sat down on my bed like a ton of bricks and I just…shook my head. What could I even tell him? He doesn’t know about this, about any of it, and he can’t. You can’t unknow, and it’s enough to fuck up your whole life. I like Rhy, he’s my friend, so…I can’t tell him shit about fuck.
I tried to sign, but my hands were shaking and I couldn’t for the life of me remember what signs I needed, so I just lifted my head so he could see my lips better. “Something bad happened, Rhy.”
“Is that why the alarm went off?” he asked.
I just nodded. I didn’t know how much the school would know, or what they’d tell us plebs, but I had to tell him something - some half truth, so he’d be careful. I didn’t wanna scare him, but it’s so much better than him dying.
“…The killer took a student,” I said slowly (at least for me). “It took a student, and almost took me.”
At that, Rhy sat down, too
“How badly are you hurt?” he signed.
“I don’t know.”
“Will you go to the nurse?”
I shook my head.
Rhy sighed, but he didn’t look surprised. Dunno why he bothered asking. He stood up, went over to his bed and fished out a first aid kit from under it, which I didn’t expect. I must’ve looked surprised, because he put it down on the bed so he could explain, “You’re a constant hazard. I knew this would happen eventually.”
“That’s so sweet.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just hold still.”
I stayed still (or at least as still as I can) for Rhy as he cleaned and bandaged my wounds. His tongue stuck out a little in concentration. After he was done, he sat back, packed everything back into the first aid kit and pointed at me.
“Stay here. I’m going to get an ice pack.” He paused, then added, “Several ice packs.”
I nodded, which made me feel dizzy. I really hope I don’t have a concussion.
I’ve been sitting here since then. Actually, now that I think about it, I think the nurse’s office is usually closed at this time of night. What’s Rhy doing, breaking in and stealing ice packs? That’s such a Sammy move, I hope he’s doing that. I’m so proud.
The alarm’s still going, but it’s quieter now. I hope the monster is gone. I’m realising now, way too late, that I shouldn’t have let Rhy go. What if it’s still here? What if he gets hurt? I should go after him. I’m going to go after him.
-
Hey past Sammy! You shouldn’t have done that! Dipshit.
Short story even shorter, I passed out a little when I tried to stand. Turns out I hit my head harder than I thought, and Rhy went to wake up the nurse. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He just kept refusing to look at me so he couldn’t see a word I was saying, which is…jeez.
Anyway, I’m okay. Spent the night in the nurse’s office, got shit sleep…oh, and I got a giant bump on my head, but Mrs Rose says I’ll live, which is really all I need.
My friends have been visiting me. Jilly brought me snacks and homework, only one of which I even sort of want, and Leanne told me that if I make her worry like that again, she’ll concuss me again.
“Aaaw, you worried about me?”
“Shut the fuck up, Stahl.”
Aaaah, Leanne.
I got Rhy to bring me some books, but apparently the ones I was trying to check out are now considered evidence. I’m, uh…hoping they’re not going to think I did that, actually. Well shit, now I’m worried. Everything aside, I can’t afford for the school to be on my shit right now; I have a person to save.
Ella Jones. Ellie. That’s the name of the girl I couldn’t save. She’s in the chess club, plays violin and likes to feed the birds on campus. And now she’s officially counted among the possible victims of the ‘Vampire Killer’.
Vampire Killer. That’s what they’re calling it, now. I overhead the nurse and the principal when they thought I was asleep. Is the monster taking the blood? Or did they just see my books and go oh yeah, vampire? There’s so much I don’t know, and the more time I spend not knowing, the lower and lower the chances of saving Ella are.
I’m the reason she’s in this mess. I’m gonna be the one to get her out. I have to.
No one else is gonna die because of me.
-
VAMPIRE KILLER: WHAT I KNOW
Area of case - Wickersons Hill area, downtown. Wickerson Quarry Reservation River. Wickerson’s Quarry Boarding School.
Victims of case - 5 so far (I’m sorry, Ella)
Core info - A ‘pale man’ is rumoured to be lurking around town. First body has been found exsanguinated - bled out. Victim found lying in the Wickersons Quarry Reservation River. Victim has been identified as Emily Sands, 29 years old bartender - the first missing person.
Misc info - A lot of cattle have also been going missing, usually to be found slaughtered days later.
Thoughts - It HAS to be a vampire.
LORE: Silver. Silver stakes? Stakes? Sunlight? Crosses? Holy water? Garlic? Iron? Holy words? Fire? Stab in the heart? Cut off head?
EASIEST TO GET:
I’m gonna have to go into town. Do some more snooping, some shopping…I know there’s an artillery store in the west side of town. Probably so that farmers can, like, shoot trespassers or something, but if there’s any chance I can get a gun…
Worst case, I’ll duct tape knives to a bat or something.
-
The school’s in lockdown and we’re not allowed into town.
Yknow, I should’ve seen that coming. A student was taken by the ‘Vampire Killer’ - obviously they won’t let us into its territory.
That’s kinda inconvenient, though. Unless that fucker breaks in here again, I can’t even reach the damn thing from in here. Jeez. I know I’ve got a rep for never following the rules, but the thing is, the rules are kinda shooting me in the foot here.
Oh well. Good thing I (and by I, I mean Leanne who taught me a few months ago) know another way out.
What’s the worst the school’s gonna do, expel me? If they expelled troubled kids, they’d lose half the students. Better to ask forgiveness, and even better to not ask at all.
SAMMYS SUPER SNEAKY SHOPPING SPREE:
-
Okay I got my stuff, as much of it as possible. Turns out Father Thomas came to us, since we couldn’t go to him, and even though I never attend the services except when pretty much dragged, I went to pay him a visit. Poor guy seemed very pleasantly surprised when I said I wanted some things blessed. Guess I look unholy.
He blessed a fuckton of water for me, taught me a bible verse I had to write down or else I’d forget it on the spot, and gave me a bigass cross. I think he might’ve been hoping to convert me, and yknow what, Father? If God can help me kill this vamp, more power to us both.
‘I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.’
So, I got the holy shit. The holy stuff. The God juice. But that’s not all, cause I hit the town last night and I got the good shit.
Garlic: check. The entire room smells like it and Rhy keeps trying to find the source. It’s a little funny.
Silver: check. This one was unexpectedly annoying to get. I stopped into like, half a dozen stores. In the end, I found a silver knife set that cost me a large part of my spleen, and I’ll duct tape it to a stick or something.
Improv flamethrower: check. Got the hairspray, got the lighter, gave it a test and yup, that’s fire. I love modern living.
Gun - sadly not. Sketchy guy wasn’t in the shop. And besides, if someone snitches to the school I’m in big trouble.
Pepper spray - nope. Couldn’t find any. But who needs that when I got a flamethrower?
Fistful of sand - grabbed some off the ground. I thought I could throw it at the monster again.
Water gun - I’m gonna holy water a vampire.
I’m feeling pretty good about my flamethrower, actually. And the water gun, which makes me feel like a genius. God among mortals. Check out me and my holy water water gun, vampire fuck.
Now, all I gotta do is find it. I got a few ideas of how to do that, most of them bad, so I just kinda have to…figure out what is and isn’t workable. It’s fine. I’ll…I don’t know, tell Leanne I’m writing a fantasy book or something and get her advice. Or I’ll just kind of go into the woods and bleed on the ground. Either way, something’ll work!
--
So turns out the police found my DNA in the area. Guess they had to send it to somewhere not in the middle of fuck-off nowhere, which is why it took them so long, but I pretty much woke up today to officers wanting to question me about the disappearance.
Not gonna lie, my heart sorta stopped. I mean, I’d seen it coming, but still. I thought hey, what if they actually think I did it? That would be so not good it’s not even funny, not to mention I can’t do anything about the monster if I’m literally in jail…
Oh, and jail would suck ass. That too. Juvie, I guess, I’m not an adult.
Uh good news is though, I’m not being arrested. They found unidentified DNA at the scene, and questioned both Rhy and Mrs Rose who confirmed my location that night and that if I’d kidnapped a girl, I’d have to have had super speed. That, combined with my (edited) account of what happened alongside a sob story about how I was terrified and had horrific flashbacks to the death of my sister got them off my back after a while. I do a pretty convincing traumatised teenager when I want to, especially since my entire psych record is on file if you go looking.
Look, I know that’s a fucked up thing to tell them. That thing about Mia. I don’t know why I said it. It just came out. People…grieve differently, or whatever my billion shrinks have told me. I panicked.
I just…I hope wherever Mia is, she’s not too mad at me for it.
Anyway, as a result, I’ve spent half the day being interrogated and the other half being lectured, followed by a third half in mandatory therapy to make a shocking 150% of a day and it’s not even dinnertime yet. All I need is for an earthquake to hit or something, that’ll really top off my day. Fuck, maybe I should just go to bed or something. Day can’t get worse if I can’t see it.
Oh, but I promised Jilly I’d help her study. Or rather, she’d make me study; I know she’s a billion times smarter than me. Plus, I definitely need an anchor to keep me on track or I’ll quickly end up somewhere else.
I’ve always been like that. Pretty much the only reason I’m passing my classes is because Lenore, Jilly and Ty are dragging me into the whole studying thing. I wasn’t passing classes when my parents sent me here - I think that’s part of why they decided I was a hopeless delinquent.
God, I was so mad at them at the time. I screamed at them, I accused them of wishing I’d died instead of Mia, of not loving me, of wanting me sent away so they wouldn’t have to look at me anymore because I let Mia die and we all knew it.
I don’t…think I’ve ever said sorry for that.
I am - sorry, that is. I’m sorry. But I did kinda mean it. I just wish I’d kept that shit bottled up, yknow?
Jeez, I’m such a prick. How’d I go from being some sweet kid to this? No wonder they sent me away.
It doesn’t matter, though; I like it here. I like the school, and my friends, and the town. I like having a little bit of me that wants to investigate what the hell is wrong with this town. It’s a mission, albeit one that’s kinda on hold until I figure out if there’s actually anything to investigate or whether it’s just one big coincidence.
In the meantime, though, I just gotta keep improving. Which means not blowing off Jilly - Leanne told me that if I forgot about one of them again, she’d cut my nuts off and hang them like mistletoe…which sounds kind of painful and I think I’ll pass.
Enough wallowing! I should go meet Jilly because holy fuck hang on I’m already late fuckfuckfuck
–
Miracles come true and I know this because I passed Sociology. People are confusing, man. Like, don’t get me wrong, I love people, talking is great, but I’m seriously flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to how to be a normal person.
I mean, some would argue that I’m failing, but yknow.
On a less positive topic, and I know how insensitive it is to lead in with me not failing classes, they found another body. I need to hurry up - I need to figure out where this damn monster is, and fast.
Only clue I have so far is that the bodies were found in wildly different locations. Which means its not dumping around its hideout. That doesn’t really leave me with much, though; I mean, if it was hiding out near the dumping grounds, the cops would’ve found it already.
If it comes to it, I might get more clues based on the dumping site of the third body…but that’s not good enough. I have to find it before the next death, not after.
So I gotta think. Where would a vampire hide out?
Somewhere dark, probably. At least I’m gonna have to go on that logic; if it’s literally just some guy who can go out in the day, my life is gonna get so much harder. But I guess if that was the case, it (he?) wouldn’t have come to the school; wouldn’t have risked being seen.
So let’s assume they’re hiding out. Let’s say it’ll be somewhere dark. My first thought would be the old mines, but I know the police have been searching there.
Sewer, maybe? But wouldn’t the cops check that, too?
Fuck, I need more information. Which means more reading - local geography, maybe? Features of the town? At least it won’t be hard to find books on; I know the library has a billion dusty books about the town. The issue is gonna be staying awake long enough to find anything out.
I’m borderline illiterate, I swear.
Urgh. I hate research.
It’s kinda funny, actually - you’d think I’d hate writing this shit down, but it’s actually kinda nice. Therapeutic? It definitely helps me get my thoughts in a line. Some things seem more obvious when they’re down on paper.
My parents called last night. News about the murders has reached them, and they’re worried. I mean, obviously they’re worried; someone was taken from campus. If they weren’t worried, I’d really have to wonder if they hate me.
Dad suggested I come home, but he suggested it in the kind of tone that implied he hoped I’d say no. Which I did, obviously. I’m happier here than I’d ever be living with them, and besides, I have a job to do.
So I told them the school had increased security and brought in a curfew (which is WAY too early, by the way. What’re we meant to do in our rooms after 6:30? Actually, don’t answer that).
I don’t know if that really reassured them or if it was just enough for them to justify leaving me at a school someone was literally kidnapped from, but they dropped the conversation after that, and the call didn’t last much longer.
Heh. It’s funny how much I want to stay. When did I start thinking of this shitheap town as my home?
–
So I was thinking about dark places for a vamp to hide, and one of Leanne’s horror movies got me thinking: what if it’s in someone’s house? Like, in the basement or the attic or wallspace or something? It happens more than you think, or so she tells me.
It’d make sense. And hell, maybe it’s even hiding out in the homes of its targets, wouldn’t that be fucked up? It would also explain why they can’t find the damn thing in any of the obvious places.
The only issue is that it would make it real hard to catch, unless I caught it actively attacking.
Though I guess the issue with that theory is that it attacked here. If it was living in someone’s house, that wouldn’t make sense. The school’s in the middle of the woods, for fucks sake. So either it was looking for something or it was in the area, and I’ve got no idea what it could’ve been looking for.
Maybe there’s a house in the forest or something. That’d work, I guess?
Jeeez, it’s times like this I really wish I had a team or something. Kinda sucks, doing this stuff on my own, but I’m not gonna drag my friends into this, especially since they’d probably think I’m even crazier than normal.
Nah; whatever happens, I gotta deal with this one on my own.
I’ll look into the whole ‘woods house’ thing, though. It’s sorta the best I got right now.
–
So it’s only a few hours after my last entry, but I’ve found several houses listed in the woods. I was kinda surprised at the sheer quantity, but I guess I really shouldn’t be, since I’m in a building in the woods literally as I write this. It just so happens mine is an ‘institute of learning’, or whatever they tell our parents.
There’s apparently a few abandoned houses in the area, too, but when I mentioned that to Rhy, he told me the police were already investigating it. I swear, he’s the only person under 70 who actually reads the newspaper around here.
Except me, I guess. But that’s different. I have a reason.
So if I’m not looking at an abandoned house—I’ll leave that to the cops—what about my theory about crawl spaces? Not that I’d really have any way of checking, but if the vampire really is living in the walls, it’d be far easier to come and go in the woods.
Yknow, I did briefly consider whether or not it could be living somewhere in Wickersons, but I’m thinking that more students would’ve gone missing by now if that was the case. Or at least, I hope I’m right in thinking that. Don’t like the thought of a vampire in the school walls.
WORKING THEORIES:
I just came up with that last one on the spot, but it’s not a bad idea. If there’s a vampire somewhere, someone’s gotta have heard something by now, especially if it’s been coming and going, and it probably wouldn’t be too hard to get a bunch of old ladies to talk to me. Those guys love to talk.
It’ll involve sneaking out again, but hey, I didn’t get caught the first time.
In the meantime, maybe I’ll go through the houses in more detail. It can’t hurt anything except my patience, and if it gets me closer to finding this thing, it’ll be a win.
Good luck to me, I guess.
–
SNEAK OUT 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: RESULTS
So that idea was a bit of a bust, but while I was out I decided to check on the gun shop again, hoping the shady man might be in this time. He was, but wouldn’t sell me a gun, and knew I wasn’t meant to be off school grounds. I guess he recognised me. Told me to ‘count myself lucky he ain’t no snitch’, which, believe me, I know.
He did say something interesting, though. I figured I’d ask him about any weird rumours, and he told me that Jacob Peterson ordered in a few guns ‘cause he thought someone was staking out his house. Something about footsteps around his house, and weird noises. He hadn’t picked up the parts.
Here’s the real kicker, though; Jacob Peterson apparently lives in the woods, not too far from Wickersons, making this my first real lead.
I want to go out there and investigate the house. I wanna talk to Jacob Peterson.
But I can’t be stupid; my run in with the gun shop owner’s reminded me that I have to be careful. I was already a suspect once, I can’t get caught sneaking out. So I have to play my cards right.
But at the same time…Ella…
Just hang on a little longer, please. I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s dead.
It’s killing me to sit here and do nothing.
–
They found the third body in the quarry.
I didn’t want it to work out this way. I wanted to save them, to stop this before anyone else died. I wanted to find them.
But…I’m relieved, and I hate that I feel relieved. Because, for all the horribleness of another body—something the school tried vividly to hide from us, by the way—there’s one huge, majorly important thing about the body.
It’s not Ella Jones.
Instead, it’s a man named Sean Darius. 53 years old, lived alone. The third victim to go missing. His body was found face down in the northwestern part of the quarry.
When I put that on a map, the locations form a triangle. I was right when I said the third victim might help me; there’s no doubt now that he’s in the woods. The police know it, I know it: we’re not just guessing anymore.
As well as all this, there’s now a total of 6 disappearances, with the addition of local Jacob Peterson to the missing person’s tally.
Jacob Peterson. The man who’d thought someone was breaking into his home. A home which, when I looked up the address, was listed close to the middle of the range where the victims were found.
It’s too much a coincidence to ignore, isn’t it?
I need to investigate.
It’s more than just the evidence now, too; it’s a feeling. A feeling deep in my bones, heart and ass that something’s not right about Jacob Peterson’s house. A feeling that I need to check it out; like something terrible will happen if I don’t.
So I’m packing up my supplies now, as Rhy sleeps, and shoving them into my backpack. I keep checking and double checking my supplies, over and over, and all I can think is that I’m scared.
Pathetic, right? This is my whole thing, practically my entire identity at this point, and when it all comes down to it, I’m scared? I’m not even going out yet; it’ll be tomorrow night, or rather, tomorrow morning. I’m tryna time it with dawn, so I can sneak out and still make use of the daylight.
It’s a whole day away, and yet the thought of it makes me shake like a leaf. What kind of a monster hunter am I?
…Heh. It’s funny; I can practically hear Mia. She’d say something like, everyone gets scared, or the real sign of bravery is admitting you’re afraid. Something cheesy like that.
God, I miss her.
That’s why I have to do this, too. If there’d been someone like me back then, maybe Mia wouldn’t have had to die. If I can do this, maybe nobody else has to die here, either.
It doesn’t matter how scared I am. I will kill this vampire.
–
If I don’t come back, and someone’s reading this…well, I’m hoping it won’t come to that. This is the kind of job that ruins your life, and I just know someone would be a hero about it.
Uh, side note: if I’m dead, or even if I’m alive, DO NOT TAKE UP HUNTING. It’s a whole lot of no fun.
It’s about an hour until I leave, and I’m just writing down some thoughts in the meantime. Some last words for if I die. I’ve already written letters for all my friends, and my parents, for if I die. But, hell, I might as well say some things again.
Guys, if I die tonight—this morning—whatever—
…
I love you guys, alright?
God, I hope I don’t die.